Good post. One player I will say is NOT good, Baker Mayfield. He's going to be the one guy that holds that team back. He was disgustingly bad yesterday.VikingLord wrote: ↑Sun Oct 03, 2021 11:31 pm Mike Zimmer said this after the game today:
* From https://www.vikings.com/news/vikings-of ... n-run-gameI've been doing this 27 years – I know good teams and I know bad teams," Zimmer added. "I know this team has a chance to be pretty darn good. We may not look like it right now because we're 1-3, but even like [Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski] said to me before the game, 'You got a really good football team here.' And they do, too. They were just a little bit better than us today."
I know Zimmer has to stay positive and all, but "a little better than us today"?
Like, 35.5 TOP against better? Like 184 rushing yards against better?
The Browns might have eked by on the scoreboard, but from what I saw this game wasn't all that close. And as good as the Vikings may be or potentially be in their own minds, it appears the extent of it is in their own minds. They are not a bad team per se. When they lose, they won't likely lose by much. But what does Zimmer actually think this team's ceiling is? What does he mean by "pretty darn good"? Like what, barely making the playoffs and then getting ushered out immediately? Or does he think this team as it stands today can actually compete against the better teams?
The plays where Rashod Hill is literally knocked over backwards, or Bradbury is getting driven straight back yet again by a bull rush, or Kendricks is tugging a jersey on 4th-and-goal when he didn't need to. I mean, how good can this team really be?
The Browns are good. That is what a good team looks like. Consistent on both sides of the ball. Minimal miscues, especially in critical situations. Aggressive, but not reckless. If the Browns had more of a downfield passing mentality, I have no doubt they would have scored far more points than they did today. This was like watching a game of keep-away where one of the players is a small kid and one is an adult. It was never a real contest.
And yet there is Zimmer basically minimizing it and trying to convince us he sees something different?
This is a 7 win team max and maybe not even that. They have a pretty tough schedule. They pretty much have to win next week against the Lions, and knowing this team as I know them, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they come into that figuring they can take the week off because the Lions must suck being 0-4 and all. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see them come out and lay an egg against the Lions on both sides of the ball.
I guess the question I have is, how can a team like the Vikings possibly address their shortcomings if their head coach and players don't see what those shortcomings are? If they keep telling themselves they are good when in fact they are not all that good, or at the very least, not playing up to their potential? The first step to improving is admitting there is a problem and then, when the problem has been correctly identified, taking steps to fix it.
As it stands, the Vikings two lines are not good enough. They need better performance out of the players they have and if that is not possible, they need better (or hungrier) players. This team isn't going anywhere unless the line play gets a lot more consistent and a lot better.
As for the Vikings, I feel like this is Zimmers way of finding a way to keep his job. Keep convincing ownership that they are good and will turn it around. I will say, I do not think they are a BAD team. Way too much talent to think that. However, I feel like they are a very poorly coached team. Their choices on 2nd down today were horrid. Constant running on 2nd and 9+. We were wasting 2nd downs like no tomorrow.
I cant even pinpoint one specific player other than the two obvious ones on the OL. But overall, I dont think this was a game about the players. This was just pis# poor game management today by our coach. Especially offensively. Why Dalvin played was beyond me. He was nowhere near 100% and when he couldnt go, we looked like we didnt know how to play football. Yet somehow he came in at the end of the game a busted off a big run? Like okay? Are you hurt or not? Regardless, this shouldnt be the case because we have Mattison. It just seems like they planned for one thing, that plan went awry and they didnt have a backup plan. Which boils down to pis# poor coaching.
There is no doubt in my mind that this team has the talent to beat the Browns. But they dont have the coaching to consistently beat anyone right now. The stupid mistakes, poor clock management, lack of urgency, etc. Just another reason why Zim shouldnt have a job right now.